The leaders of the various factions looked at each other in dismay.
As for Yu Xiaogang's proposal to attack Spark Academy, they had no objections—because Spark Academy possessed the technology to alter a person's martial soul, and they had already been applying this technology to the despised commoners who hated them, raising them up.
Every faction felt as if they had thorns stuck in their backs. Who knew whether some lowborn they had once humiliated, tortured, or OOXXed was now being trained inside Spark Academy?
Therefore, the sooner this faction was eliminated, the better. Otherwise, if Spark Academy were allowed to grow, and one day unleashed a swarm of Title Douluo, then what the hell would they do?
But what they really disagreed with was—
"Master, are you certain you want to mobilize an army of a million?"
If it were a war between nations, sending out a massive army for a decisive battle would be understandable. But this was just a single academy. Didn't he know that once a huge army was mobilized, the enemy would instantly be alerted, and there would be no element of surprise left? Not to mention, the logistics for feeding and supplying a million troops were no joke.
Ning Fengzhi wiped the sweat from his forehead and stepped forward. Compared to the others, he understood better how to flatter this swine while still steering him toward what they wanted.
Ning Fengzhi flattered:
"Alliance Leader Xiaogang, we wholeheartedly support your wise and godlike decision. But I believe your proposal to send a million troops was actually a test for us, wasn't it?"
Yu Xiaogang, drunk on the flattery, froze for a moment at Ning's last sentence. Then he quickly said:
"Correct! This Alliance Leader was indeed testing you. Well then, Sect Master Ning, why don't you explain exactly how I was testing you?"
Ning Fengzhi stepped forward and said:
"The Alliance Leader already knows that Spark Academy is but a small faction. Mobilizing a million troops would only make for a grand show, but achieve no real effect. Instead, it would only alert the enemy and ruin any surprise we had. But since this reasoning is so obvious, why would the Alliance Leader say it aloud? It's because you were testing our judgment."
Yu Xiaogang, hearing this, immediately felt it made sense. He hurriedly said:
"Correct! What Sect Master Ning has said is exactly what this Alliance Leader meant!"
Ning Fengzhi continued:
"The Alliance Leader already has a plan. He hopes that we, the various factions, will gather a highly mobile Soul Master corps to strike Spark Academy with a sudden assault—catching them unprepared. Ideally, we could deal them a heavy blow right at the beginning, minimizing our losses."
"Yes, yes, that is indeed this Alliance Leader's plan!" Yu Xiaogang declared.
Ning Fengzhi bowed and said:
"Alliance Leader Xiaogang, I truly admire your wisdom."
With Ning setting the tone, the others also began praising Yu Xiaogang's brilliance.
Thus, the discussion shifted toward the creation of this raiding Soul Master army.
Spark Academy was a superpower with Ultimate Duoluo. After so many years of development, who knew how much energy they had accumulated inside.
So although the Alliance wasn't deploying a million troops, this was still considered a full-force operation.
Dai Tianfeng, Zhu Tiancai, Yu Yuanzhen, Yu Xiaomen, Ning Fengzhi, Gu Rong, Chen Xin, Huo Qiqiang, and all of the Body Sect's Title Douluo—
along with their subordinates, Contra, Spirit Saints, Spirit Emperors, and Spirit Kings—
were assembled into an army of several thousand.
To ensure the blow against Spark Academy would be devastating, nearly all of the Alliance's strongest fighters were included.
A raid plan was drawn up. By mid-month, at dawn, the raiding army crept to the outskirts of Spark Academy, lying in ambush in the dense forest as they awaited the signal.
Yu Xiaogang personally came to the frontlines, with Gu Rong, wielding spatial powers, guarding him. He then gave the order to attack.
The Soul Master army surged silently from all directions, flooding into Spark Academy.
Huo Qiqiang, Chen Xin, Yu Xiaomen, Yu Yuanzhen, and the others all launched their assaults.
Unexpectedly, the raid went disturbingly smoothly. They easily entered the academy grounds without encountering any resistance.
Chen Xin flew through the air, standing on his Seven Kill Sword, while Ning Fengzhi stood beside him, both flying by sword. He frowned as he looked down upon the academy below.
The raiding army stayed cautious, probing through the academy grounds. But in the end, they all had to admit—
this was a fortress already abandoned.
"It seems this place has been deserted," Chen Xin said.
Ning Fengzhi warned:
"Do not relax. This may be Spark Academy's empty-fort strategy."
From morning vigilance to the next day, they finally confirmed—
It was truly an empty city. Everything of value had been stripped away, leaving only heaps of daily refuse.
Yu Xiaogang stood in the square of Spark Academy, his flat-top hair black as a pot's bottom.
The people of Spark Academy had run. Running was one thing—but they had also taken their technology with them. Now that they were gone, how could Yu Xiaogang use their technology to change his fate?
"Search! I, Yu Xiaogang, don't believe they left nothing behind!" he commanded.
So, Soul Masters began combing through every corner of the academy, desperate to find something of value.
At last, one Soul Master approached Yu Xiaogang and said:
"Reporting to the Alliance Leader—we found this in the garbage heap."
In his hands, he held two Soul Tool syringes.
"This is…" Yu Xiaogang's voice trembled as he pointed at the syringes. He hadn't forgotten that moment at the Soul Master Tournament, when Snow Maiden used such a syringe before his very eyes to grant a worthless commoner the noble martial soul that should have belonged to him—Golden Holy Dragon. Seeing this object again, Yu Xiaogang could no longer remain calm.
"Hurry, bring them here!"
The two Soul Tool syringes were placed before him. Gangzi picked them up, turning them in his hands. Inside, the Martial Soul Factor fluid still remained. On the surface of the syringes was a symbol Yu Xiaogang knew all too well—the emblem of the Golden Holy Dragon.
"Golden Holy Dragon… this is Golden Holy Dragon!" Yu Xiaogang's eyes turned bloodshot as he stared at the syringes. He could hardly believe it was real. Both syringes contained Golden Holy Dragon Martial Soul Factors. Once again, he was one step closer to the Golden Holy Dragon!
The others also stared hungrily at the syringes. One injection could flip a person's destiny upside down—who wouldn't covet them?
"Ahem." Huo Qiqiang suddenly spoke:
"Alliance Leader Xiaogang, there seems to be a warning label on these syringes."
Startled, Yu Xiaogang quickly turned the syringe over. Sure enough, a line of text was written there:
Warning: Soul Tool syringes cannot be used carelessly. Different individuals have different levels of compatibility with Martial Soul Factors. A physical examination must be conducted beforehand. Otherwise, if a Soul Master with rejection to the Factor fluid uses this product, it will lead to severe consequences.
When everyone saw the warning sign, their hearts immediately calmed down.
What truly sobered them wasn't the content of the warning itself, but the realization that sparked in their minds.
When Spark Academy departed, they had taken everything with them—how could they possibly have left behind two of the most crucial Martial Soul Factor injections? What if this was a trap?
Clearly, Yu Xiaogang had also thought of this possibility.
A pained expression surfaced on his flat-topped head. The Golden Dragon factor was right in his hands, and he longed desperately for it. Yet he did not dare to use it.
"Alliance Leader, don't we have two Martial Soul Factor injections? We can test one first and see what happens." Ning Fengzhi suggested.
"Oh, oh, oh." Yu Xiaogang suddenly came to his senses, then looked around at the others present. "Which one of you is willing to give it a try?"
The crowd, who had just moments ago been coveting the injection with burning eyes, instantly stepped back in unison. Nobody wanted to be the experimental subject.
At that moment, Gu Rong suddenly seemed to sense something. He turned to Yu Xiaogang and said: "Alliance Leader, wait a moment. I'll fetch a suitable subject for the experiment."
With that, he used his spatial ability and disappeared. A short while later, he returned, dragging along a woodcutter who had been climbing the mountain with a hatchet.
The woodcutter trembled in fear as he looked around, only to realize he was surrounded by noble Soul Masters.
Seeing him, Yu Xiaogang pulled out one of the Martial Soul Factor injections and walked toward him.
The woodcutter stammered in terror: "Wh-what are you going to do to me?"
Yu Xiaogang said coldly: "Relax. I'm giving you, a lowborn, a rare chance. Don't you want a powerful Martial Soul?"
Without further explanation, he stabbed the injection into the woodcutter's body and released the factor.
When Yu Xiaogang pulled the syringe out, the liquid inside was gone. He immediately began to observe the woodcutter's changes.
At first, nothing happened. But suddenly, as though something inside him was bursting forth, the woodcutter let out a tearing scream.
He broke free from Gu Rong, spread his arms wide, and a dragon's roar echoed. Everyone present felt a familiar aura of suppression descend upon them.
Yu Xiaogang's face turned pale, and his legs instinctively stepped backward. This pressure was too familiar. Could it be…
Sure enough, in the next moment, the phantom of a Golden Dragon Martial Soul appeared behind the woodcutter. Along with it came the absolute suppression of a higher Martial Soul over lower ones.
In an instant, because of his close proximity and compounded by the "soul-lung haze" within his body, Yu Xiaogang was forced to his knees under the crushing aura, trembling uncontrollably.
"G-Golden Dragon…" Yu Xiaogang, still oblivious to his sorry state, lifted his flat-topped head and stared with glassy eyes at the phantom Golden Dragon behind the woodcutter.
"Is this… my Martial Soul?" the woodcutter asked in disbelief.
Everyone else felt the suppression as well, though to varying degrees. Some endured it with their strength, while others were only slightly affected. But Yu Xiaogang, with his weakened body, had no chance—he was utterly crushed into prostration.
Gu Rong, seeing Yu Xiaogang forced down, hurriedly used his own soul power to shield him from the suppression.
Once the suffocating aura dissipated, Yu Xiaogang realized what had just happened—he had once again kneeled before someone else's Golden Dragon.
He scrambled up, his face flushed scarlet with shame, glaring at the woodcutter with venomous hatred and jealousy.
"Since the experiment is done, kill this woodcutter!" he barked.
Two Soul Masters immediately seized the man.
The woodcutter, snapping back to his senses, begged frantically: "No! Don't kill me! Please don't! My Golden Dragon is very strong—keep me alive, and I can bring you more benefits!"
"Your Golden Dragon?" Yu Xiaogang's eyes were bloodshot, dripping with malice. "No. The noble Golden Dragon should never be tainted by the blood of a filthy lowborn. The Golden Dragon is the exclusive Martial Soul of the Yu Clan. Kill him!"
Not to mention the humiliation he had just suffered—even the moment the woodcutter awakened the Golden Dragon, his fate was sealed. The Golden Dragon was supposed to be Yu Xiaogang's exclusive Martial Soul. He would never permit anyone else, least of all a commoner, to defile it. For this woodcutter to possess the Golden Dragon meant only one thing: death.
The other clans and sect Soul Masters didn't object either. After all, the so-called "honor killings" of outsiders who awakened one's inherited Martial Soul was already a long-standing tradition of the Douluo Continent. Their only regret was that they hadn't volunteered to test it themselves. If they had, backed by their family's strength, Yu Xiaogang wouldn't have dared to act against them—and they would have directly gained a Golden Dragon Martial Soul.
Thus, the pitiful woodcutter, after awakening his Martial Soul, was promptly executed.
The first Martial Soul Factor injection had been used up, proving that it truly could bestow powerful Martial Souls.
Yu Xiaogang now held only the last one. Every Soul Master present stared greedily at the syringe in his hand.
Noticing their gazes, Yu Xiaogang's eyes flashed with resentment. This Golden Dragon Martial Soul Factor is my chance to transform into a dragon. Mine! I won't allow anyone to touch it. Never!
So, shamelessly, he fabricated an excuse: "This Golden Dragon Martial Soul Factor is extremely precious. As Alliance Leader, I must take it back to study it carefully and see if it can be replicated."
He slipped it into his Soul Tool and then painted a grand vision for the crowd: "Don't worry, everyone. Once we master Spark Academy's technology, won't powerful Martial Souls be within easy reach?"
Strictly speaking, the assault on Spark Academy had failed. But in Yu Xiaogang's public narrative, the Divine Order Alliance had achieved a glorious victory, forcing Spark Academy to abandon its stronghold in fear of their might.
The coalition then burned down the academy to showcase the Alliance's authority, ordered a hunt for Spark Academy's members, and triumphantly returned to their headquarters.
Back at the main base, inside the Alliance Leader's residence, Yu Xiaogang dismissed everyone else and locked himself in his room alone.
He pulled out the final Golden Dragon Martial Soul Factor, gazing at it with greedy, feverish excitement.
Without hesitation, he plunged the syringe into himself, injecting every drop. Tossing aside the emptied injector, he spread his arms and cried out in manic ecstasy:
Come, Golden Dragon—my lifelong desire, my ultimate pursuit! At last, we are to be reunited! Hahahahaha—